Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Using Zombies As Weapons In Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z

Tecmo has been much-criticized for the last decade for releasing numerous versions of the same Ninja Gaiden games. With the wacky Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z, gamers won’t have any reason to complain about re-using old ideas.

Series star Ryu Hayabusa is seen in the game’s first cutscene, as he violently kills a rival ninja named Yaiba. Two weeks later, the new character has been revived thanks to cyborg technology. Players then assume the role of Yaiba as he slashes his way through a zombie-infested world.

Sword attacks such as the ones typically seen in the series are still a part of this Ninja Gaiden spin-off, but ridiculous new attacks are possible after slaughtering enemies. Yaiba can chop off a zombie’s arms and use them as nunchuks, or grab the foe’s entire body with his mech arm and flail it around like a whip.

Zombie bodies will sometimes be used to solve environmental puzzles, such as one I saw that involved a steamroller. A zombie sat behind the wheel of the vehicle, which I needed to move to progress through the level. By tossing a zombie in front of the steamroller, the driver becomes distracted and drives forward, clearing the way.

Another puzzle causes a zombie to drive a truck up a ramp, which then crashes directly into the crotch of giant leg props that sit above a lingerie store. After the truck explodes between the legs, a rain of panties begins falling from the sky. Yaiba looks up at the sky and spreads his arms, welcoming the falling underwear. His wacky sense of humor is surprising to see in the usually-serious Ninja Gaiden series, but it’s a nice change of pace. We’ll see if this new take on the series brings fans back after the disappointing Ninja Gaiden 3 when Yaiba releases in 2014.

There needs to be a term (that developers should embrace more,) that describes taking a game series and doing a side project so goofy that nothing should be taken seriously about it. Something like "This game has been Blood Dragoned."

The information box up above (top right) is all sorts of wrong. The developer isn't Comcept, and the game certainly isn't published by Team Ninja. Tecmo Koei is publisher - obviously - while the game is co-developed by Team Ninja and Spark Unlimited, while Comcept is overseeing design and production (like, say, the relationship between Mistwalker and Feelplus during Lost Odyssey/Artoon during Blue Dragon/AQ Interactive during Last Story)

Do not like the E3 trailer by the way. I really hope they don't "try to be funny", because they're going to veer way too far into dumb and offensive, like Bulletstorm and Duke Nukem Forever. The zombies don't look engaging, but then again, this isn't Ninja Gaiden proper so maybe it'll appeal to more people if it's just a dumb, fun slasher. The music choice is good for such a different NG experience though...

I was not expecting such a drastic tonal change, at this point this game doesn't even seem like a Ninja Gaiden game. In a way I am disappointed that it is so drastically different from what I was expecting, but then again it could be good. The footage of the zombies and the steamroller was rather funny.